Higher Ground

Dispensaries Are Moving On Up

Inside a former brewery, Green Med Wellness Center has cozy aesthetics and a light-hearted atmosphere.

With marijuana markets blooming across the country, Tucson is no exception as three new dispensaries have opened in the past year. Each provides a familiar yet polished experience from dispensaries Tucsonans already know and love.

Owners at Downtown Dispensary, Earth's Healing and Purple Med Healing Center have expanded operations by opening new locations to bring their trademarks to patients who may have been out of reach before.

Each location brings a little something from the homesite, but offers it in bigger, updated dispensaries tailored to the patient experience. Whether you're a new patient or a regular, check out these new sites for to stock up for 420.

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Nick Meyers

Owner Vicky Puchi-Saavedra surveys the floor of the new Earth’s Healing location on opening day.

Earth's Healing78 W. River Road

Patients at Earth's Healing are familiar with the dispensary's friendly customer service and knowledgeable staff down on Benson Highway, but now that charm comes a little bit closer with a new northside location.

No longer will patients have to drive to the southside or rely on delivery to get their product. The second location brings Earth's Healing closer to remote and new customers alike, with delivery services as far as Oro Valley and Marana.

Owner Vicky Puchi-Saavedra designed the new store, which just opened this week, with the patient experience in mind.

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Nick Meyers

Earth’s Healing

A new waiting room provides a comfortable, spacious place for patients to relax while they wait to get called into the dispensary. Plenty of couches, ample lighting and even a refreshments table set a calm tone for the visit.

The new dispensary features 12 registers to expedite the patient experience. The dispensary also has an express window, so patients can call ahead and pick up in a hurry.

And if you can't come to the dispensary, the dispensary will come to you. Two new delivery vehicles sit primed and ready at the new location, so you can shop and ship without leaving the comfort of your own couch.

Patients have access to the same 65 strains available at the Benson location, with three or four of those strains rotating through the menu to continue to find new products patients will love.

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Nick Meyers

Earth’s Healing

Earth's Healing is rolling out its own new products as well with a line of CBD tinctures, balms and (soon) pills, for different ways of finding what works for patients. The new products contain an "entourage" of cannabinoids that work together to better relieve aches and pains.

Stop by to check out the 420 deals, which include $9 grams, 25 percent off edibles, a two-for-one deal on regular Earthvapes and more. The Benson Highway location will also have certifications and Sonoran hot dogs onsite.

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Nick Meyers

D2

D27105 E. 22nd St.

Downtown Dispensary has been serving midtown for years. Now, their eastside store gives them another chance to improve on a successful model.

While Downtown Dispensary has benefited from the downtown market just off Fourth Avenue, D2 joins the neighborhood of Southern Arizona Integrated Therapies and Desert Bloom. Though they're not looking to pick off customers, they're hoping the Downtown formula will bring in new patients.

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Nick Meyers

The new D2 dispensary offers an open space for patients to meet with their budtenders.

The new shop, opened in August 2017, has much more room for patients to mull in and out. Oddly enough, the wide-open space allows patients the opportunity to more discretely discuss their preferred method of medication as opposed to "D1."

Situated on the corner of 22nd Street and Kolb Road, the new location gives the dispensary a more public presence, which they hope will draw in some new clientele.

The waiting room is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows (tinted and bulletproof) to contrast the more confined space at D1.

Downtown and D2 recently rolled out their own line of vapes and topical creams, iLava and MedLava. For the topicals, owner Moe Asnani hired a clinical aromatherapist to combine the medicinal properties of marijuana with sweet smells for the skin. Ingredients are imported from the UK and Australia.

The dispensaries also began operations at a new cultivation site here in Tucson. The proximity allows Downtown to provide some of the freshest bud around with no more than 3-4 weeks from cut to customer.

Patients can get the new patient special at either store, which include a free gram for a one-gram purchase up to three grams, and two-for-one iLava and MedLava cartridges or 20 percent off edibles.

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Nick Meyers

Green Med Wellness

Green Med Wellness Center6464 E. Tanque Verde Road

Purple Med Healing Center got off to a rough start in 2012. Limited space and personnel problems kept owner Jean-Paul Genet busy for the first few years.

Now that Purple Med has ironed out the kinks, Green Med, which opened in February, offers a fresh start for the dispensary to strut their stuff.

With more than 100 strains on the shelves, Green Med has the largest selection of bud in Tucson. Even the pickiest puffer will find something to satisfying at this store. The dispensary's own strains are even grown all organic.

Set inside a refurbished brewery, Green Med has a stylish waiting room with several TVs to keep patients entertained.

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Nick Meyers

Green Med Wellness

Inside the dispensary, tall wooden posts flank the counters and a repurposed brick oven houses the fridge of THC-infused drinks.

While the dispensary churns out its own line of edibles, their line of pills stands out as especially unique. Different ratios of THC and CBD are available in capsules starting at 20 milligrams, but new arrivals will offer patients a "micro-dosing" option with one- and five-milligram capsules.

But the newest product, Undoo softgel capsules, aims to alleviate those times when you get just a little too high. The newly patented pills help new patients figuring out their dose, or veteran tokers who may find themselves suddenly having to address responsibilities clear their heads and get rid of the fogginess.

Keep an eye for their upcoming line of medicated ice cream, which will have vegan options made with coconut or almond milk.

Green Med will also neighbor an upcoming social club for medical marijuana patients. Attached to (but separate from) the dispensary, the social club will give patients a place to medicate in private while enjoying music, beverages and eventually food.

The Green Med 420 celebration is a party you don't want to miss. With performances by Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Ky-Mani Marley and more, the three-day celebration will be family friendly and open to all. Pick up day tickets for $25 or 3-day tickets for $60 at the Green Med location.